Occult Slayer

The occult slayer is driven to confront any arcane or divine spellcaster who crosses her path. Occult slayers believe that mortals are too irresponsible to wield magic, and that those who dare to do so must be slain. Spellcasters who become occult slayers are considered to have seen the error of their ways – although they may still cast spells, they rely primarily on their battle prowess and their ability to resist magical effects to defeat their enemies.

The occult slayer comes into her own through exhaustive training. Every regimen she performs is an exercise that refines her anger against spellcasters into martial skill. Each occult slayer forms a preternatural bond with her masterwork weapon of choice, which serves as the instrument of her vengeance.

This prestige class is ideal for individuals who have been victimized by spellcasters and seek acceptable ways to oppose them. Most occult slayers begin their careers as fighters, although barbarians and rangers often take this path as well. Monks and rogues have also been known to embrace this calling, but bards and paladins find the occult slayer’s preoccupation with spellcasters stifling. Clerics, druids, sorcerers, and wizards – the primary targets of occult slayers – tend not to adopt this prestige class, although such turnarounds are not without precedent.

Occult slayers seldom form organizations, because they have discovered that congregating in one place attracts spellcasters intent on making preemptive strikes against them. Instead, occult slayers discreetly meet from time to time to exchange information about spellcasting opponents they have targeted for matches. Otherwise, the occult slayer operates alone, traveling between venues in search of matches that involve spellcasters. Because of the inherent discretion that occult slayers display, a candidate for this prestige class must be chosen and trained by another occult slayer who is willing to share her secrets.

Requirements

To qualify to become an occult slayer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Best Attack Bonus: +10

Skills: Arcana training; any three secondary skills from Arcana

Feats: Improved Initiative, Weapon Expertise (any)

Hybrid System

Role: Martial Any

Morale per Level: 5

Ability Pools: Martial

Class is barred from synergy with any spellcasting class

Brute

Finesse

Strategy

Focus

Emotional

Presence

Armor

Physical

Mental

Reflex

Fortitude

Will

0.5

0.25

0.5

0

0.25

1

0.25

0.25

1

0.5

0

0.5

Occult Slayer

Level

Abilities

1

Magical Defense I, Weapon Bond

2

Mind Over Magic I, Vicious Strike

3

Auravision, Magical Defense II

4

Cloak of Nondetection, Mind Over Magic II

5

Blank Thoughts, Magical Defense III

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the occult slayer prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Occult slayers are proficient with all simple and martial weapons and all armor and shields.

Magical Defense I-III

An occult slayer’s constant training in countering magic of all types manifests itself as a bonus to defenses against all spells and spell-like abilities. The occult slayer gains a +1 to defenses against all magic for each rank of this class feature.

Weapon Bond

An occult slayer must choose a particular weapon of at least masterwork quality as the focus of her power. Upon making her selection, she immediately forms a bond with the chosen weapon that imbues it with the force of her hatred for spellcasters. Thereafter, any successful attack she makes with that weapon against a spellcaster or creature with spell-like abilities deals an extra 6 points of damage. Damage inflicted in this manner is far more disruptive to spellcasters during their casting. If this particular weapon is lost or destroyed, the occult slayer loses the ability to deal the extra damage and disruption until she acquires and bonds with another weapon of the same kind of at least masterwork quality. The occult slayer must spend one day per character level practicing with the replacement weapon (and doing very little else – no adventuring) to create a new weapon bond.

Mind Over Magic I-II

An occult slayer can cause a spell or spell-like ability targeted against her to rebound onto the originator as a free action. This ability otherwise functions as the spell turning spell, relying on a contested check to reflect the spell. The character may perform this ability once per day per rank of this class feature.

Vicious Strike

An occult slayer who readies an action to specifically disrupt a spellcaster during casting (and no other purpose) doubles their critical range on the attack.

Auravision

An occult slayer gains the ability to see magical auras at a range of up to 60 feet as a free action. This ability otherwise functions as the detect magic spell. The character cannot use this ability to determine anything but the number of magical auras present.

Cloak of Nondetection

An occult slayer (and any gear she wears or carries) becomes more difficult to locate through divinations such as clairaudience/clairvoyance, locate object, and other detection spells. The occult slayer gains magical protection from divinations equivalent to a nondetection spell, except that it affects only the occult slayer and her possessions.

Blank Thoughts

An occult slayer can induce within herself a state of mental absence, thereby becoming immune to mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, patterns, phantasms, and morale effects). She can suppress or resume this ability as a free action.